Island green at TPC Sawgrass to be closed for drainage project

The most-photographed hole in golf will be out of commission for the next few months to take advantage of reduced play due to coronavirus.

PGA Tour Champions veteran Mark Calcavecchia may have said it best of the famed island green at TPC Sawgrass.

“It is like having a 3 o’clock appointment for a root canal,” he said. “You’re thinking about it all morning and you feel bad all day. You kind of know sooner or later you’ve got to get to it.”

Well, golfers playing the Pete Dye layout and home to the Players Championship won’t have the 137-yard shot from the tips at 17 on the mind for the next couple of months. The most-photographed hole in golf is closed starting on Monday, April 27 through July 5 to improve the drainage on that green. (In addition, Stadium greens are scheduled to be aerated.)

“We have decided to take advantage of the lower business volume (due to coronavirus) on the Stadium Course and will be doing a renovation project on No. 17 green,” TPC Sawgrass general manager Derek Sprague wrote in an email to membership. “The primary purpose of the project is to improve the drainage system on the green. The design and slopes of the green will be consistent with its current design.”

The total project time is about 11 weeks. Sprague added that the course was originally scheduled to be closed from June 8 through July 5.

According to one of the assistant pros in the golf shop, the green free, with a typical rack rate of $500 and up with dynamic pricing has been adjusted accordingly and reduced to $350 during construction.

A replacement hole is described as being located between No. 9 green and No. 10 tee. Golfers will drive past 17, play No. 18 as their 17th hole of the day, and then turn right as if he headed to the 10th tee. The temporary hole will be a short par 3 playing to the small practice-putting green originally created for those with a 10th-tee start during the tournament. The temporary tees will be located to the north side towards the clubhouse near the paver walkway, and will range from 70-110 yards. The green does have a miniature-version of Dye’s trademark bulkhead, but that is about where the comparison ends.

The temporary hole to replace the famed island-green 17th at TPC Sawgrass during a drainage project. (Adam Schupak/Golfweek)

It begs the question: Sawgrass without the 17th is like…? Allow yours truly with a longtime love-hate relationship with the hole to take a stab at a few entries: it’s like the Ryder Cup without fans or more apples to apples, Fenway Park without the Green Monster.

After July 5th, the 17th should be back to torturing golfers. Nightmares, cold sweats and heartburn will again be associated with this devilish hole. As Calcavecchia says, “All day you know it’s coming, but that doesn’t make it any easier when it’s finally time to confront it.”

A close-up of the temporary green replacing the 17th green at TPC Sawgrass during a drainage project. (Adam Schupak/Golfweek)

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